Tom Wood, player of the match the last time England beat New Zealand at Twickenham, says there is a \u201cbloody big target\u201d on the back of Henry Pollock \u2013 but also an \u201cinevitability\u201d he can handle it.<\/p>\n
Pollock starts on the bench against the All Blacks at Allianz Stadium on Saturday with England fans still buzzing about the solo try he scored which broke Australia a fortnight ago.<\/p>\n
Wood, whose footsteps the 20-year old followed into first the Northampton<\/a>, then England<\/a> back-row, admits he was \u201cslow to jump on the bandwagon\u201d when the peroxide flanker broke through last season.<\/p>\n Praise for Pollock<\/p>\n But now a man who captained his country, winning 50 caps, played in two World Cups, shared in two Six Nations titles and skippered Saints to a Premiership-European title double in 2014, has a startling confession.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m fairly glad he\u2019s come a year or two after me \u2013 I\u2019m glad I wasn\u2019t competing directly with him. The truth is, I think he\u2019s made for this current era. He\u2019s made for this environment.\u201d<\/p>\n Wood adds: \u201cI always think it\u2019s great when someone does it at England 18s or Under-20 level, but let\u2019s see if he can do it in men\u2019s rugby. Let\u2019s see if he can do it in the Premiership in Europe, internationally.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery time one of those questions has been posed of Henry, he\u2019s answered it emphatically, blown it out of the water.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s kind of an inevitability about him. He comes off the England bench on his debut and scores two tries, he stars for Saints to get them to a Champions Cup final, he earns Lions selection and doesn\u2019t look out of place.<\/p>\n \u201cEach time he plays you feel he\u2019s probably going to score. There\u2019s like an inevitability about it. He\u2019s got everything going for him at the moment, he\u2019s absolutely flying and I love to see it.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a very, very different sort of personality to me, but mostly in a good way, I\u2019d say!\u201d<\/p>\n What Pollock<\/a> has not done is play against either of the world\u2019s top two ranked nations. South Africa do not have a fixture with England this autumn so the All Blacks<\/a> this weekend provides the litmus test.<\/p>\n England team: George Ford among SEVEN changes for All Blacks as Steve Borthwick deploys \u2018Pom Squad\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n All Blacks team: Scott Robertson reacts to England\u2019s \u2018Pom Squad\u2019 in shock selections but Rieko Ioane is still snubbed<\/a><\/p>\n The question, with Wallace Sititi, World Rugby\u2019s breakthrough player of 2024, named on the bench specifically to counter Pollock\u2019s \u2018Pom Squad\u2019 arrival, is whether he can continue his rise against the men in black.<\/p>\n Wood, who wore the No.6 jersey when England put a record score on New Zealand in 2012, says: \u201cThese are the games where you make your name. You get a win against at the All Blacks and no-one can take that away from you.<\/p>\n \u201cYou get a try in a game like this, a match-winning tackle or turnover: they\u2019re the moments that get repeated every year.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can only give Henry credit for what he\u2019s achieved so far. Who else has burst onto the scene and done anything like that? His stats are phenomenal.<\/p>\n \u201cSecond-season syndrome is real. A phenomenal first season does kind of catch up with you a little bit. You become a marked man.<\/p>\n \u201cEverybody knows what you\u2019re capable of the following year. They don\u2019t give you the same breathing space. You\u2019ve probably humiliated them the year before, so they\u2019re looking to get one back.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re not going to be complacent in the tackle, they\u2019re not going to give you any freedom or an inch of space.<\/p>\n \u201cCan you still do it in that environment when you\u2019re the name they\u2019re talking about all week in their analysis and their preparation and you\u2019re the target that\u2019s being put for their big tacklers and their enforcers to come after all game? That\u2019s the question.<\/p>\n \u201cSo far, he\u2019s managed it, he\u2019s been phenomenal, but it\u2019s a tough old game and can he sustain it? To be a true great, you\u2019ve got to do it for five, ten years. You\u2019ve got to be at the top for a period of time.<\/p>\n Wood challenge<\/p>\n \u201cDoing it for a season or so is amazing, but you don\u2019t go down as one of the greats of all time after one season.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked if there is a danger of getting ahead of himself, given Pollock has yet to start a Test<\/a> match for his country, Wood replies: \u201cThat\u2019s always a danger and also, when you act the way he does, you do paint a bloody big target on your back.<\/p>\n \u201cAs much as everyone loves to build you up, they love to see you fall as well. So Henry has to be mindful of that.<\/p>\n \u201cI can understand why opposition players and fans love to hate him and will be putting a big target on him. But as long as he\u2019s playing for Saints and England, I\u2019m a big fan.\u201d<\/p>\n